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Effects of Cu Addition and Spheroidization Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al–Si–Cu–Mg–Ti–Zr–Sr Alloys

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Abstract

Herein, six types of Al–7Si–xCu–0.35Mg–0.12Ti–0.24Zr–0.05Sr alloys were prepared with different Cu contents (x = 0, 1.8, 2.1, 2.4, 2.7, and 3.0). The effects of Cu addition and spheroidization treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the alloys were examined. The findings demonstrated that the θ-Al2Cu phase tended to concentrate near the β-Al5FeSi phase. Furthermore, Cu could refine the grain and passivate the eutectic Si. Among the as-cast alloys, the mechanical properties were found to be optimal when the Cu content was 2.7 wt%, with ultimate tensile strength (UTS), yield strength (YS), and elongation (El) values measuring 251.1 MPa, 159.5 MPa, and 5.7%, respectively. Despite the decrease in El, the UTS and YS improved by 23.6% and 23.5%, respectively, compared to the C0 alloy. However, excessive Cu content aggregated and adhered to the massive θ-Al2Cu phases, weakening the mechanical characteristics of the alloy. In addition, the spheroidization treatment caused significant spheroidization in the eutectic Si and promoted a more uniform size distribution. This treatment also facilitated the transition of the solid solution of numerous θ-Al2Cu phase into a matrix, leading to a uniformly dispersed precipitation of Al–Si–Cu and Al–Cu phases. Consequently, the mechanical properties of the alloys were considerably enhanced. When the Cu content was 2.7 wt%, the UTS, YS, and El of the alloy were 301.9 MPa, 174.4 MPa, and 9.1%, respectively, representing increases of 20.2%, 9.3%, and 59.7% compared with those of the as-cast alloy.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support from Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Plan (Grant: No. 202104a05020047 and No. 2022a05020032), Industrial guiding fund of changfeng county and hefei university of technology (Grant: JZ2019QTXM0281), key research and development plan of Guangxi Province (Grant: 2020AA06003AA), Intelligent manufacturing Institute of HFUT. (Grant: IMICZ2019003) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant: PA2020GDGP0054).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China

    Hao Liu, Wenru Hu, Yafei Pang, Mingkun Qiu & Xiaodong Du

  2. Engineering Research Center of High Performance Copper Alloy Materials and Processing, Ministry of Education, Hefei, 230009, China

    Xiaodong Du

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Liu, H., Hu, W., Pang, Y. et al. Effects of Cu Addition and Spheroidization Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Al–Si–Cu–Mg–Ti–Zr–Sr Alloys. Inter Metalcast 18, 1401–1413 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-023-01121-7

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